Resolving a circuit split, this decision holds that American Pipe tolling during the pendency of an initial class action does not toll the statute of limitations for a follow-on class action but only for individual suits by members of the putative class in the initial class action. American Pipe tolls the statute of limitations during the pendency of a putative class action, allowing unnamed class members to join the action individually or file individual claims if the class fails. But American Pipe does not permit the maintenance of a follow-on class action past the expiration of the statute of limitations. Denying American Pipe tolling for successive class actions promotes efficiency by encouraging all potential class representatives to come forward in the initial suit so that the court may choose among them. Tolling for individual suits leads to a finite extension, whereas, tolling for successive class action would permit limitless extension of the limitations period.
United States Supreme Court (Ginsburg, J.; Sotomayor, J., concurring in the judgment); June 11, 2018; 2018 U.S. LEXIS 3502